Prince and Pauper
by RisingStorm15
Summary: Jatiera is a skin changer living in hiding with her younger siblings, every night they ask the great river to send them aid, they just didn't expect that aid to come from a partially dead man in a funeral boat. Or the one where Boromir lives.


_**Hey guys! Just so you know, this fanfic will be a LOTR au where Boromir does not actually die and his quest to rejoin the fellowship. Been toying with this idea for a while now so I hope you like it. Just as a warning, there will be OC's. Sorry for those who don't like them.**_

' _Once upon a time, before any of us existed and middle earth was still young there was a young elf princess named Arendael. She was a gift from the stars themselves and would one day be queen of all of the forests in middle earth._

 _It was on the day she would be crowned queen when she saw it, the great river. Soon the beauty of the river in the moonlight captured Arendael, and when she became queen she built a great white palace beside the river she loved so much. When the forces of darkness came to siege her palace in their conquest of the realms the river stopped them at every turn until it seemed as if it had a mind of its own._

 _Greatly puzzled by this, Arendael set out at midnight to discover the secrets of the great river. This was to be her downfall, for no one must gaze upon the true magic of the river or they shall surely perish. Poor, naïve, curious Arendael discovered that the river could control the world around it by the water's song, and so enraptured was she by the song that she fell in to the rushing water and drowned beneath its surface!_ '

' _Is that why our river is called the Arendael River? Will it truly harm us if we hear its song?_ '

'Yes _my dear, it is. But there is no need to be frightened by the river, for it is not in the habit of drowning little ones like you. Our great river is kind and grants us so many gifts after all it granted us our home did it not? If you ask it, the river will provide'_.

' _Will it bring father back home from Gondor?_ '

' _Some day…some day it shall'_

There was silence for some time after the tale, the forest undisturbed in its nightly routines. The trees cast ghostly shadows in the moonlight, shielding the position of many night creatures, such as the ones seated by the glimmering river.

The river itself wound gracefully through the center of the forest, one would never realize that this river had come from a great waterfall upstream, so quiet and serene it was.

Gazing from the darkness, Jatiera watched as it curved around the bend, ever-vigilant gaze scanning for threats. A hunter never stopped being alert, even at night. Every breath of wind ruffled her dark curls, creating the only visible movement in the woods.

A small sigh emanated from the curled up form beside her. A small curly haired boy was curled against her left side, his small head cradled against her chest.

" Hush, Ellon, go back to sleep," She murmured quietly against his ear.

With a small murmur, her little brother snuggled closer and promptly fell back asleep.

 _It's probably time to get him back home to bed. Goodness knows Aramir will not be happy with me when I return for we have been away too long._

Getting to her feet quietly, she hefted the small boy in to her arms and made to wander further in to the dark woods until a dark spot in her peripheral vision had her placing her brother gently to the ground before spinning quickly, dagger raised.

No one.

There was no enemy poised to attack, no night predator looking for a meal, no filthy orc with his poisoned blade.

She crept towards the edge of the tree line, eyes searching for what had caught her interest, alert for any sound from her brother at the same time. A weak, pained huff caused her to glance down sharply.

There!

A small boat floated lazily below her, and with a start she realized that this had been what had caught her attention. And yet, boats did not groan, so what had made that noise?

Shimmying down on to her belly, she gazed over the edge to the boat below. Amber eyes met pained hazel and Jatiera's gaze widened substantially.

" What in the realms? Hang on sir, I'll help you out!" Jatiera called hastily.

Ripping off her midnight cloak she leapt in to the river over the side of the small vessel.

With a gasp her head broke the surface, teeth chattering from the cold. With freezing fingers and grasped the docking rope and gently tugged the boat until she could get her feet under her and haul it to shore. Water streamed off of her as she hurriedly knelt in the shingle at the edge of the river and began to haul the man out of the boat, eliciting moans of pain from his dry, cracked lips.

" Sir, can you hear me? Can you tell me where you're hurt?" Jatiera asked, hurriedly ripping his cloak in to bandages for whatever wounds he may present.

" A-Arrows, must apologise-"

Jatiera chose to ignore the apologise part, that could be addressed later, for now she had to focus on his arrow wounds, which upon cutting open his tunic were hastily bandaged and still fresh.

" Come, I'll collect my brother and take you somewhere safe," Jatiera assured as the strange man's eyes closed slowly and her amber eyes were left alone to shine in the darkness of the woods.

 _Whoever you are, whatever trouble you have been in, I hope you are the blessing I've been waiting for._


End file.
